Raveled

Brian chuckled at the idea of himself as a leader. "I'm just a junior. In fact I'm only starting on my second year here at Claremont. But I can show you where the offices and stuff are." That earned a full-bellied laugh from the teen. "No, man. There's no one like John on the planet. Which is good -- if we had more than one person with his kind of focus, we could split atoms by having them get into a staring match."

The last shark bowled into Glowstar, sending the teen tumbling head over heels across the grass. The massive beast ended up on top of him, trying to use its greater mass to bear down on the teen hero. Thankfully, Glowstar had managed to get an arm wedged into the monster's mouth, holding it back. The creature's serrated teeth ground against his force field, but seemed unable to get past the sparking energies. For his part, the teen hero was obviously straining against the land-shark's greater strength, but he worked to keep his tone light. "Woo! That's some breath, chowder-head. You guys couldn't have stolen some after dinner mints before this? Like, a wheelbarrow apiece?"

Shark 4's melee attack roll, vs Glowstar's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=19)Wow. That's... Just wow. Crow's up.

As Subito wandered across the quad, a shadow passed over the grassy commons. He glanced up to see a glowing figure with several footballs tucked under one arm. The figure held one finger into the wind, then chucked each pigskin in a different direction in rapid succession. One went directly over the front gate, and was still climbing as it crossed the road! The figure descended towards the grass and resolved itself into a young man, not much older than Subito himself. The glow snapped off as his feet touched the ground, though his eyes remained an angry red-and-black. His expression was friendly enough though, and he smiled as he held out a hand to the newcomer. "Hey there. I'm Brian Harris. Are you a, uh, new student?"

Shark 5's counter-grapple, vs DC 28. (1d20+16=18) Shark 4 is Bound and Helpless.

As AW is now back and a member of our fine community, I'd like to make a rather specific request: Ironclad in her unarmored form, as Jessica Parker.

GM Flora's failed attack didn't even turn their shark-creatures from their charge. One drew forward of the other, digging its clawed toes into the turf as it turned at the last moment. Its huge, fang-crowded jaw snapped at Wisp, but the teenage teleporter easily avoided the attack. The momentum carried the beast past the teens and towards the rear of the fleeing crowd.

Yep, that misses. Shark 5's melee attack roll, vs Wisp's Def. DC 25 (1d20+10=20) And another miss! Ironically enough, that brings us to Wisp's turn.

Brian frowned. "I was inside holding things," he said, "helping to build the actual greenhouse. I can't keep track of everyone's coming and going." He made to turn around when Gwen planted herself in front of them both. His mouth suddenly went dry and he worked not to panic. He swallowed several times before he was able to speak. "It's just... just a little guy-to-guy talk, you know?" He turned around and started guiding Zach back to the construction site. "Let's, uh, get those paving stones down, right?"

Brian touched the ring on his hand and silver threads sprang out, covering his body. In moments he was clad in his metallic jumpsuit, with the high-collared half-cape snapping out behind him. He gave a smile fit to match the sharks and stepped up to the closest one, hand wreathed in red energy as he socked it square in the nose. Perhaps he wouldn't have connected if the beast hadn't been wavering from Wisp's assault, but this last blow managed to down the fishy intruder. Glowstar stood there and gave his friends a satisfied smile. "Well, that wasn't so bad," he said. "Was over quickly, anyway. Maybe we can still grab a coffee, or... uh..." Turning back to the bay, he saw what the other teens had spotted earlier; two more black fins cutting through the water, making a beeline for the shore. They disappeared for a moment, then two more bipedal sharks pulled themselves out the bay. They bared their rows of teeth at the teen heroes menacingly and Glowstar slapped one hand against his forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he admonished himself. "Never say it's over until the bad guy's in Blackstone."

Free Action: Quick Change into costume. Standard Action: Entropic Strike against the remaining shark. Glowstar's melee attack, vs Shark's Def. DC 26 Tou + DC 21 Fort (1d20+10=14) Oh, you have got to be freaking kidding me. Well, since the thing is Stunned + Staggered that still hits, but... Shark 2's Fort & Tou save, vs DC 21 + DC 26. (1d20+10=16, 1d20+10=20) So it loses 5 points of Toughness, which brings that second roll down to 15. It's done. Sharks 4 & 5 Initiative. (1d20+6=15, 1d20+6=26) Of course it's not done just yet. 31 -- Flora -- Uninjured -- HPx4 26 -- Shark 5 -- Uninjured -- GM 23 -- Shark 1 -- Unconscious -- GM 23 -- Shark 2 -- Unconscious -- GM 22 -- Wisp -- Uninjured -- HPx1 19 -- Shark 3 -- Unconscious -- GM 15 -- Shark 4 -- Uninjured -- GM 14 -- Crow -- Uninjured -- HPx2 12 -- Glowstar -- Uninjured -- HPx4 Flora's up.

Consider Skill Mastery for feats, as well as Evasion 2. Also consider what sort of Knowledge skills this kid might have. Pop Culture? Streetwise?

Quirk's face fell, and when he spoke his tone was dejected. "I would never do that," he protested. "I sent you on the best adventure ever!" "You said it was going to be a game," Jessica pointed out. She walked behind one of the chairs and gripped the back, but didn't sit down. "It was!" Quirk jumped up and started fencing with his shadow. "It had excitement, love, discovery, and real danger!" "Games don't have real danger," Jessica said. "Games don't have real people dying." Quirk sagged again. "But... but I sent you where people needed your help!" Jessica paused. She really couldn't argue against that, but she didn't want to let this (all-powerful, but still) childlike troublemaker off the hook. She glanced at Mara, hoping for some backup.

Dragonfly's patience rewarded her, when the extra-large space-time distortion hit the tentacle-thing squarely in the middle of its mass. The creature squealed as it fell from the wall, striking the floor with a wet sound and slowly spreading out. In a moment the heroine realized it wasn't just relaxing -- the thing was actually dissolving, whatever force had held it together unraveling now. Even as she realized this, a swarm of white motes percolated through the walls and swirled around her, eventually surrounding her in a blizzard of white light and noise. For several minutes she was cut off from the world, and when the motes receded Dragonfly noticed she wasn't standing in the temple anymore. She was standing in a rather nicely appointed parlor, her armor nowhere to be seen. Dark wood paneling gleamed from the walls, and threw back her reflection badly distorted. In a moment she noticed that she wasn't alone. Ironclad was there, and so was Quirk, still dressed in his long robe and seated in a high-backed chair. The cowl was pushed back and he was grinning at the two heroines. "That was too cool," he enthused. With a wave of his hand he summoned two more chair, identical to his own, the trio forming an equilateral triangle. "Sit down, sit down!"

Cthuloid is dealing with one Bruise already, so. Cthuloid's Toughness save, vs DC 30. (1d20+9=14) That is the very definition of being out.

"I like it when you improvise," Jessica said, giving him a brief kiss on the lips. "I don't mind going to a museum with you -- I'm always going on about the Lab and science stuff, you should have a chance to geek out over things now and again." She ran one hand down his arm, grabbing his hand. "Tomorrow's the last day in London," she said, "then it's on the Chunnel and Paris." She pulled Blake over to the bed and down, running a hand through his hair and leaning forward for a kiss. "But until then... we only have one bed. And I'm alone with the most handsome man in London." She smiled and kissed him warmly, not letting up for a good few hours. Neither teen had thought to set an alarm or a wake-up call the night before, so it was the daylight that awoke them. Jessica grinned, seeing Blake's face not twelve inches away from hers. "Morning, lover," she whispered and leaned forward to give him a brief kiss. Turning over, she sat up and stretched, then pulled the comforter off the bed to cover herself and padded around the bed. The young woman moved through the room with an extra spring in her step, seemingly unable to keep a smile off her face. "I'm just going to take my shower, alright?"

Brian winced at Zach's... enthusiasm, suddenly realized that giving the other boy a clear shot at his own girlfriend maybe wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. Regardless, now wasn't the time to backpedal on his decision. "I'll step up to any bar you want to set, but fair warning, man -- I've got four pairs of eyes looking out for me. And four sets of hands working to help me. You might wake up one day to find that your room doesn't have a door anymore." He dropped Zach's hand and they walked a few more feet on while he fought the urge to shake his hand. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. "Uh, didn't the girls already go to get the pizza?"

Player Name: Raveled Character Name: Starlight Power Level: 10 (150PP) Trade-Offs: None Unspent PP: 0 Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30 In Brief: Grue drone awakened to sentience by the White Light. Travels to Earth to better learn how to use the mystic power. Alternate Identity: Leyla, Elizabeth Moya Identity: Unnamed Grue Drone (Secret) Birthplace: Gruen Prime Occupation: Student at FCU, intern at Albright Institute Affiliations: FCU, Albright Institue Family: Genetically related to all of the Grue Unity Age: 7 Apparent Age: Mid-twenties Gender: Technically neuter, nominally female Ethnicity: Grue Height: Any, normally 5' 4" or 6' 4" Weight: 340 lbs. Eyes: Any, normally green or pure gold Hair: Any, normally blue-black or none Description: As a Grue drone, Leyla's default form is a masculine humanoid with brick-red skin and dead, pale green eyes. As Liz Moya, she is a woman of average height and curvaceous build, with smooth, olive skin, large, dark green eyes, deep black hair that's usually cut to shoulder length and tightly braided, and a wide, expressive mouth. She favors simple clothes with elaborate stitching, rather than a riot of colors. She usually wears minimal makeup. As Starlight, she is as a towering woman carved from alabaster, a smooth, unbroken form of pure white. Her eyes are pools of pure gold; she wears a golden breastplate with flared shoulders, and banded sleeves of gold down to plated gloves. Her legs are protected by similar greaves, a metal skirt, and high boots. Power Descriptions: Starlight is a fusion of two separate lineages. On the one hand, she's a fully functional Grue drone. She can morph into a variety of humanoid forms, and even generate clothes and other accessories from her body. Her past as a Grue drone, however, has left her particularly vulnerable to abilities that target the mind. On the other hand, she is the bearer of the White Light, a mystic legacy reaching back to prehistoric times. She can generate and manipulate strong light, focusing it into blasts or shapes of pure energy. She can even use its mystic powers to heal others of their injuries History: Elizabeth Moya was born on a farm in the north of Spain, and grew up a precocious, friendly young woman. She showed such intelligence that her grandfather, an old friend of Langston Albright, worried that her mind would be wasted on taking care of animals all day. When the woman was of age, he contacted his friend in Freedom City and convinced the man to give the young woman a shot at a special scholarship. She did well enough to impress him and secured herself a spot at Freedom City University, as well as a part-time job at Albright Insitute. She's just a freshman now, but great things are expected of her. That's what most people believe, anyway. The truth is a little more complicated. In a distant star system, the Grue Unity was fighting a war against a technologically undeveloped alien species. Normally there would have been no contest, with the more advanced interstellar aliens crushing their backwards opponents, but these primitives had mastery of powerful magics. Most notable was the champion of their species, a bearer of the mystic White Light. Unfortunately, even such a champion could not hold back the inevitable, and the hero lead the alien invaders to the edge of his star system in an attempt to finish things in a single climactic, suicidal battle. After a long and indecisive engagement, the Unity finally managed to gain the upper hand. With his back against the metaphorical wall, the hero unleashed the full power of the Light of Pharos, burning out his life in order to wreck the Grue fleet. The plan worked -- the energy ran rampant through the ships, destroying most -- but there was an unexpected side-effect. Before destroying the last of the invaders, the Light empowered a lowly drone. This Grue was ripped free of the Meta-Mind's control; almost immediately it began to regret what it had done as a part of the Unity and teleported far away. The free Grue, calling herself Leyla and later taking the moniker of Starlight, began to fight for good in the galaxy. In time she heard stories of Earth and their great calamities, especially one where a pair of human superheroes had wielded powers which sounded a lot like what she could do. She traveled to that little blue marble and landed in Europe, specifically in Spain, where she started fighting the local criminals and villains. In time though, she was confronted by the Freedom League. Her first instinct was to flee, but when the hero Pseudo revealed himself and his story to her, she decided to let the League choose her fate. The heroes took her back to Freedom City and introduced her to Langston Albright. The retired Beacon was startled, to say the least, to find out that the Light of Pharos had chosen an alien -- and a Grue at that! Still, he agreed to train her and support her while she adapted to life on Earth. He suggested she enroll in college, both to gain important skills and to learn what it was like to live as a normal person. She agreed, and now Freedom is home to the bearer of the Light of Hope once more. Personality & Motivation: Liz is something of a person of contrasts. On the one hand, her Grue nature compels her to explore. As such she has a love of the novel and strange. She tends to get bored if things stay the same, and so is always looking for new experiences. She is very passionate about these new hobbies, leaping in with both feet and committing herself fully to a brand-new past time, usually burning out in a few weeks. In addition, the Light has instilled in her a deep and abiding desire for justice and liberty. She feels driven to help whenever and whomever she can. One of the surest ways to get Liz on your side is to present yourself as the underdog, and one of the surest ways to make her your enemy is to try and control what others do! Powers & Tactics: Starlight doesn't have as much variety in her powers as previous Lightbearers did. Her tactics are pretty simple: Bear down on the enemy and blast them with concentrated beams of light and magic! In a team situation, she's likely to try and provide cover for her teammates with Create Object. If her allies are down or civilians are endangered, she will usually adopt a more defensive posture and try to get the injured out of the line of fire before returning to the fight. Complications: Secret Liz strives to keep her identity a secret, as well as her past. Largely because... Grue Defector ... People don't trust Grue, even those that claim to have broken away from the Meta-Mind. Not only that, she's going to be hunted by the Unity wherever she travels. As if that wasn't enough... Rival ... Starlight made the Grue Arcane a particular target of hers, leading to an intense rivalry with a particular sorcerer who went by Phantasmagore. That's not even getting into... Legacy ... Her status as the latest Lightbringer. It is her job to protect the world, indeed all of the universe, against the power and disciples of Darkness. A Special Kind of Evil Due to her past as an appendage of the Meta-Mind, Starlight finds herself uncomfortable around psychics or others who can influence a person's mind. Abilities: 0 + 6 + 0 + 4 + 8 + 8 = 26PP Strength: 16/10 (+3/+0) Dexterity: 16 (+3) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 14 (+2) Wisdom: 18 (+4) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP Initiative: +7 Attack: +4, +10 Mystic Light Array Grapple: +8, +20 Create Object Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback: -6 Saving Throws: 6 + 4 + 4 = 14PP Toughness: +10 (+0 Con, +9 Protection, +1 Density) Fortitude: +6 (+0 Con, +6) Reflex: +7 (+3 Dex, +4) Will: +8 (+4 Wis, +4) Skills: 48R = 12PP Bluff 8 (+12)Skill Mastery Concentration 8 (+12) Diplomacy 4 (+8)Skill Mastery Disguise 1 (+5/+25)Skill Mastery Knowledge: Pop Culture 3 (+5)Skill Mastery Knowledge: Life Sciences 3 (+5)Skill Mastery Language 3 (English, Lor, Spanish) (Grue: Native) Notice 8 (+12)Skill Mastery Perform 1 (Piano) (+5) Perform 1 (Singing (+5)Skill Mastery Sense Motive 8 (+12)Skill Mastery Feats: 17PP Attack Specialization (Mystic Light Array) 3 Connected Dodge Focus 6 Improved Initiative Luck 2 Move-By Action Skill Master 2 (Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Knowledge [Pop Culture, Life Sciences], Notice, Perform [singing], Sense Motive) Uncanny Dodge (Auditory) Powers: 10 + 4 + 9 + 14 + 25 + 3 + 3 = 68PP Density 3 (Extra: Duration [Continuous], Flaw: Permanent, Feat: Innate) [10PP] (Alien) Enhanced Strength 6 Protection 1 Immovable 1 Super-Strength 1 Flight 2 ( 25 MPH) [4PP] (Magic) Protection 9 [9PP] (Force Shield, Magic) Morph 4 (Any humanoid; Extra: Duration [Continuous]; Feats: Quick Change 2) [14PP] (Alien) Mystic Light Array 11 (Feats: Alternate Power 3) [25PP] [Magic & Light) BE: Blast 10 (Feats: Homing, Indirect) [22PP] AP: Create Object 10 (Str 50, Feats: Tether, Stationary) [22PP] AP: Environmental Control 7 (Bright Light, Extras: Range [Perception], Independent, Feat: Slow Fade 1) [22PP] AP: Healing 10 (Feat: Stabilize) [21PP] Super-Senses 3 (Magic Awareness [Mental]) [3PP] Super-Senses 3 (Detect Magic [Visual]) [3PP] Drawbacks: -3 = -3PP Vulnerability (Mental, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Major) [-3PP] DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 18 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Blast Ranged DC 25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy, Light) Create Object Ranged DC 25 Reflex Trapped NOTE: The easiest way to get your DC Block to line up is to write it out in a word processor in a Courier font, then just copy/paste it into your post. Abilities (26) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (12) + Feats (17) + Powers (68) - Drawbacks (3) = 150/150 Power Points :arrow: This is my take on the latest Lightbringer, a concept that has been tried several times here but always seems to fail. The one unifying factor between the known Lightbringers in recent history (White Rose & Thorn and Beacon) is that they were outsiders -- Rose & Thorn were German Jews working for the Allies in WW2, and Beacon was a black hero in the 1950s. To that end I decided to pick a Grue as the latest Lightbringer -- it's hard to find someone more outcast in the setting than a free Grue, unless your character is from the Terminus! :arrow: Mechanically, this is a mashup of two very powerful concepts: the Lightbringer (think magic Green Lantern, but without a power ring) and a Grue warrior, a shapeshifting alien with some psychic powers. It took a bit of work to make the two fit into a 150PP budget and still hit PL 10 caps. :arrow: Of note, this character has none of the aforementioned psychic powers that Grue sometimes possess. Since these are mostly of the "crushing your mind in my vice and wringing out your precious secret-juice," I figured that this character has chosen to ignore that part of her legacy for now and focus on her mystic light powers. She'll probably pick up Drain Will and Mind-Reading as APs later on. :arrow: Quick nod to Geez3r's builds: What isn't here, and what does that tell you about the character? Notably there's no Complication for not understanding human culture; she's got a +5 bonus to Pop Culture and Skill Mastery, she can pass as human just fine. :arrow: And to round out the shameless plugging, what about Gizmo's ideas of overlap? Where does this character overlap with others? Well, the most obvious answer is the four Claremont PCs that happen to be aliens. How does she differentiate herself from them? Partly by being able to blend in to Earth culture perfectly fine, partly by being in college instead of high school, and partly by being a member of an existing alien culture, the Grue.

Toughness saves for Sharks 1 & 2 & 3, vs. Wisp's attack. DC 30 (1d20+10=19, 1d20+10=12, 1d20+10=13) Yowch. One of the near ones is Unconcious, as is the one on the stage. The other one is Staggered + Stunned.

Brian forced himself to remain calm as Zach confessed his feelings for Gwen. He was seized by a sudden and primal urge to knock the other teen to the ground and beat some sense into him, but he pushed it down. "I'd really like to say that Gwen's my lady and you got to stay away from her," he admitted. "That if you didn't, I'd chuck you into the bay or hound you out of town or make your life a living hell. But... I don't really have a right to do that. Gwen's her own person. Neither of us can control what she does, and it wouldn't be right for us to try to. Yes, I already asked her out -- I saw her, I liked her, I went for it. But that doesn't mean we're bound together for all eternity, either." He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck, casting his gaze to the right, up, down at his feet, at anywhere that wasn't Zach. "Damn. I can't believe I'm trying to give a pep talk to my romantic rival. But... may the best man win." He stuck out a hand to the other teen and finally met the young man's eyes.

A reminder that Clad can hit DC 30 Computers without rolling and has 100x Mental Quickness. Just in case there's any question that she can do all of that.

Jessica cycled through the cameras, her eyes dropping half-closed as her perception of the physical club around her faded, replaced by an overlay of its electronic sensors. There was a bundle of information, flowing from camera to camera; there was a knot of data as sales were made and rung up at the bar; there was a woman being held against her will in the manager's office. The woman's eyes snapped open at that one and she stood up straight, easily spotting the spiral staircase that lead up to the second level and the manager's office. She made a beeline through the crowd to it, still half-immersed in the digital world. She sent out three messages -- a text to Joe, telling him to meet her at the stairs, a text to everyone else telling them to get ready for action, and a command to the manager's electronic doorlock to open itself.

Brian felt anger flash through him at Zach's comment, and his first reaction was to step forward and knock out a few of Blondie's teeth -- but then Archer's training rose up and he checked that reaction. He started to put things together, like the excavated water line and the way Zach made eye contact with Gwen, even the other teen's confrontational stance towards Brian himself. He took a mental breath and stepped forward, letting Gwen go and catching Zach by the arm instead. "Hey, man," he said, steering the other teen away from the group. "Let's... let's go pick up the pizzas, yeah?" When they were a few yards away and unlikely to be heard by the others, Brian dropped his hand back to his side and said, in a low tone, "So you're into Gwen too, huh?"

Brian's Sense Motive, vs Zach's Bluff. (1d20+5=25) ... This opens possibilities.

As the last nuts and bolts were fitted in place Brian wandered back outside. He turned and took a look at -- well, not just his handiwork, of course, but still. He was proud that he'd managed to hold something so big together so well. Of course now he found himself wondering if he'd been able to hold the whole thing together from the beginning, not just going in stages... He glanced around and noticed Gwen -- talking to a boy he hadn't seen before. His brows drew together and he felt his hackles rise. He felt a sense of protectiveness and, yes, even possessiveness flash through him as he walked over, forcing a smile onto his face. He stood next to Gwen, slipping an arm around her shoulder. "Hey there," he said, extending his free hand to Zach. "Brain Harris. Don't think I've seen you around campus before."